To Feel
by Maximum Ride 000
Summary: Roy's not the only one in Central who was affected by Hughes death


**DISCLAIMER: I owned the series on box set once, but I lent it to my friend and they never gave it back so obviously, I don't own FMA or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: This fic is the product of insomnia so I apologize if it sucks. Ironically, FMA was the first anime I ever watched, but this is the first fic I've written for it. I know the characters are ooc so there's no need to tell me so. Please R&R, Flames will be promptly ignored, but constructive criticism will help me sleep at night so I can write better fics.**

The air outside was crisp and cool. Autumn was definitely in full force and the cool breeze made the few citizens brave enough to go outside shiver. It had been two years since the death of Maes Hughes. In that time many things had changes, but just as many had remained the same. Roy Mustang was still the lazy-ass colonel he always was, Havoc was still the world's worst chain smoker. Breda was still afraid of dogs, Falman was still obnoxiously smart, and Fuery was still wearing glasses. Even Hawkeye still put up with all of them and still managed to be the best sharpshooter in the military. In the two years since Maes death, Roy Mustang had come to terms with the death of his best friend, mostly with the help of his loyal and caring subordinate Riza Hawkeye, who had come and picked him up at bars when he was too drunk to drive himself home and had sat with him and held him while he cried late into the night. In fact, he had to admit that he probably would have killed himself had it not been for Riza's support. He looked up from the paperwork he was attempting to complete and let his gaze drift to the woman currently dominating his thoughts. She was quietly reading a report. She was always the dedicated worker, most of the time doing half of his work. She had a slight frown on her face. It was the same expression she always wore, it never revealed any of her emotions. Sometimes that worried him, he wanted so desperately wanted to know what went on inside her head. She was always so calm, but he knew that no person could live without feeling something. As he continued to watch her, he realized that he didn't know how she was handling Maes's Death. He heaved a sigh and glanced at the clock. It read midnight which made him heave another sigh. The others had left hours ago, leaving him alone with Riza as he frantically tried to finish his paperwork. He wanted to confront her about her feelings and convince her that it was okay to feel, but was afraid that she would pump him full of bullets. He would have to wait until she was ready to talk.

"Get back to work, Sir." her commanding voice cut through his reverie. He grinned at her before turning back to his paperwork. An hour later he felt like his hand was going to fall off if he had to sign his name one more time. He looked up once again only to find that his loyal subordinate sound asleep, her head resting against her arms. He smiled at the rare display of vulnerability. He stood up and stretched, grateful for the opportunity to take a break. He looked out the window at the full moon shining brightly in the night sky. He let his mind wander to Hughes, Riza, and all the other loyal members of his company. He was startled by a small whimper coming from behind him. He whirled around in surprise only to find that Riza was the only other person in the room. He continued to watch Riza as he moved closer to her desk. He noticed tears falling down her face as he got closer to her sleeping form. As he reached her desk he heard it again, only this time the whimper became distinguishable words, "Maes…. Maes… Gracia…. Elysia…. I'm sorry….." He had never heard her voice sound so broken. It frightened him to know that she was that broken inside and he had never known. He gently knelt down beside her and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Riza, Riza, wake up…" he whispered gently. Her amber eyes opened slowly as she remembered where she was and why she was there. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly. She pushed herself up into a proper sitting position, "I'm fine Sir." She responded, but her voice broke, betraying what she really felt.

"No you're not." he said gently. She remained silent, refusing to make eye contact with the man still kneeling beside her. "Please Riza, talk to me. I want to help you, but I can't if you won't let me in." he pleaded with her.

"I really am fine Sir." she protested meekly, barely able to keep her emotions in check. Roy stood abruptly, his patience finally running dry. He took Riza's hand in his and pulled her to her feet. He pulled her up against him, and wrapped his arms around her. She stiffened in his grasp, unaccustomed to the intimate human contact. "It's okay to be upset." he spoke gently into her ear. There was a moment of silence before she lost control of her emotions and her body wracked with the force of long pent-up emotions. As she sobbed he gently rubbed circles into her back with one hand while he ran his other hand through her hair. He held her until she had loose all the tears she had refused to shed over the years. "It's okay to love." he whispered into her ear before pulling away just enough to kiss her.

"I love you Roy." she whispered gently once they had separated and neither had felt more happy in their entire lives.

**Thanks for reading my little fic, I hope you enjoyed reading it. Please review because that's the nice thing to do. On a side note, LONG LIVE ROYAI!!! LONG LIVE ROYAI!!! LONG LIVE ROYAI!!! Thank you for listening to that public service announcement.**

**~Maximum Ride 000**


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